KUALA LUMPUR (Bloomberg) -- Oil palm planters in Malaysia, the world’s second-largest grower, warned that closing estates in its top-producing state may exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus by creating a flood of economic migrants, while tightening food supplies.
The state government of Sabah, which has 1.54 million hectares of oil palm planted area -- more than 21 times the size of Singapore -- has ordered estates and mills in six districts to shut through April 14 after some workers tested positive.
The shutdown affects about 75% of the state’s palm production and about 100,000 workers, according to growers’ groups.
But instead of containing the virus, the closures may have the opposite effect.
Plantations and smallholders that can’t afford to pay workers may be forced to lift their own voluntary lockdowns, leading to an exodus of "economic migration” into neighboring towns or out of the country, according to Jeffrey Ong, president of the Malaysian Estate Owners’ Association.
Growers are worried about the "nightmare” of the social impact caused by the shutdown order, compared to if workers were working within estates that have implemented strict safety measures, said Joseph Tek, chief executive officer of Sabah-based planter IJM PLANTATIONS BHD
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